The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-06-26

oancnez and his party, who were going back
10 complete the work at the hacienda. II
was iilght when we reached their place, and
Il canped there, occupving enc of
Uhe roofless rooms. Don Fernando. viii.
Whom had become quite friendly. under
LOOK 10 snow me the hacienda, and went
apoUG Win INN, expressing admiration for
; :no arrangements and extent of the build
HlSS: AS we entered one room. Don Fer
Iando threw up his hands and exclaimed in
as!oLlshment: Que est eston What is
Ihls0 looked and saw a heap of wheat
straw, some loose earth and a large hole in
Tue moor close up against the east wall. We
examined the hole and found it was about
Iour Ieet deep, three feet IN diameter at the
Top ana two feet across the bottom The
noie was lined with masonry and well ce-
mented. Lying at the bottom was piece
u paper and we reached for this in the hope
tnat IL would furnish some solution of the
mystery. On the scrap was written badly
IN spanish the following: We have just
taken out Oh this hole treasure of SO, 600. -
STILL A MYSTERY.
Inc Lieutenant stopped to permit an ap-
proprlate expression OF establishment, and
then concluded the story: 1.-THE most curious
part of this affair is that Don Cayetano had
grown up at this hacienda, and had raised a
numerous family there, aud no one of them
mad ever heard of this hidden treasure The
money must have been put there by
i0iiner owner who was perhaps killed by
The Indians. Very likely he left some
attnerd'To describing the location of the
treasure, and the party into whose hands it
Iell made good use of his knowledge, dig
glng up the coin at the first opportunity
upon learning that the hacienda was about
TO be occupied. The absence of Don Fer
nando at the feast had furnished the oppor-
tunity. So far as know the Sanchez fam
lily never obtained any clew to the person or
persons who dug up the money!
Illustrating still another phase of the
buried treasure topic, Lieut.. Flipper told
this: "A few years ago a wealthy but
eccentric gentleman died in Hermosillo,
sonora. He was known to have a good
Zeal OF ready money and it was also mat
ter of notoriety that he had been in the
habit of burying his surplus cash for safe
keeping. His end came suddenly in an
eplleptic fit, and to this day nobody has been
able to find dollar Of the hidden wealth.
lie left his family in indigent circumstances
because of his secretiveness. They used
what little money they could scrape to-
gether in hunting for the old gentleman's
hoard, and they have since worked and
spent in vain effort to discover what is
legitimately their own"
WHAT FOSTERS THE CUSTOM.
Continuing, the Lieutenant explained how
the peculiar and uncertain conditions pre-
valling in Mexico had developed this custom
OF burying money, and showed why there
was reason for putting some degree of faith
in the tradition He said: SIN the town of
Alamos, of the district of the same name in
Sonora, there is said to be considerable
buried treasure, a large amount having
been put underground as late as 1875 and
1876, dnring the time of the Macheteros and
the Serna-Pesqueira revolution. The people
who buried their money were killed during
the evolution, or died without disclosing
the hiding place of their wealth. This
custom of burying valuables in Mexico
was at one time general, and is still prac-
ticed by many people. The absence of
banks or other place for safe-keeping, and
the numerous revolutions, are the chief
causes. Usually the finder of buried treas
ures retains the most of it, a percentage
going to the government. The belief that
great sums of money have been hidden and
lost TO the original owners is universal in
this country. The government shares in
this faith, and Congress has placed upon the
statute books a law relating to the discover
les of these long-lost treasures. This law
requires that the finder shall pay into the
Federal treasury a percentage of the amount
unearthed, and he thus secures a recognized
title to the remainder. Receipts under this
law are anticipated annually, and the dis
cOvery of buried money is now classed as a
regular source of revenue by the Mexican
government"